


Crescendo

by savagemockingbird



Series: The Music in Us [1]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Emperor Plays the Piano, Fluff, Gen, Prince Plays the Violin, They/Them Pronouns for Eging Jr. | Squidkid Jr. (Splatoon), because I said so, emperor is neurodivergent coded, emperor prince and pearl are referenced as related, i just want them to be happy and healthy, implied child abuse if you squint, takes place during the king-cup arc, their parents passed away but it isnt really expanded on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:22:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27306967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savagemockingbird/pseuds/savagemockingbird
Summary: Prince turns his head away to lean his back flat against the wall. He stares at his socks and listens to the angry sounds of the piano echoing out of the study and into the rest of the house. Prince has grown used to the sound of it in the last few years; Emperor never spoke of his emotions. He simply let the music do the talking.Emperor, Prince, and the music that fills the space between them.
Relationships: Emperor & Prince (Splatoon)
Series: The Music in Us [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006476
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	Crescendo

**Author's Note:**

> this is really self-indulgent and stems from a lot of my fav headcanons so ! i hope u enjoy this

Prince knows the house will be noisy after their victory against Team Yellow-Green.

Not because Emperor would be upset and yell. Quite the opposite actually; Prince can’t ever remember a time that his older brother raised his voice at him if he was being honest. It had always been monotonous and calm, the complete opposite of Prince’s eccentric way of speaking when they weren’t training.

Emperor passes by him and into his own room. Prince can hear the shuffling of clothing and gear when he walks up the stairs but quickly ducks into his own room when Emperor walks back out. Prince knows his routine by now. He thinks he’d be a bad brother if he didn’t.

He quickly drops his own gear and throws on an oversized sweatshirt Eging Jr. had gifted him long ago, rushing out of the room to pad after Emperor. He knows exactly where to find him.

Their father’s study is much too large and dusty for Prince’s taste. It was rare to find anyone in there after his passing; Emperor had even gone to the lengths of refusing to let the maids clean the dusty old room. Prince had originally thought it was because his brother was in too much pain to imagine anyone stepping into the study again.

He knew otherwise now. He knew it when he had heard his brother sobbing out of relief and mumbling  _ he’s gone, he’s finally gone,  _ in N-Pacer’s arms that it was because he would rather leave the skeletons in his closet. Prince wasn’t supposed to know that, but his curiosity as an eleven-year-old had gotten the better of him. He had quickly learned after that that maybe he shouldn’t be eavesdropping in on his brother’s conversations.

And yet here he is, standing by the door of their father’s study, eyes trained on his brother walking into the room.

Emperor’s hands rest on top of the grand piano in the corner, brushing off dust and coughing softly at the thick layer that comes off. He settles down onto the bench, brings himself closer and opens the piano to reveal the set of black and white keys. He cracks his fingers, breathes in, and plays.

Prince turns his head away to lean his back flat against the wall. He stares at his socks and listens to the angry sounds of the piano echoing out of the study and into the rest of the house. Prince has grown used to the sound of it in the last few years; Emperor never spoke of his emotions. He simply let the music do the talking.

Prince remembers when they were children before their parents had passed. They had put Emperor in piano and he had hated it at first. Recitals gave him anxiety and he would shake violently at the thought of making a mistake. And as he grew and became more closed off, his love for the instrument seemed to grow, using it as an escape whenever something would go wrong. It was the first thing he turned to on bad days, even before Eging Jr. and N-Pacer. 

Prince drags his fangs along his bottom lip, threatening to draw blood. He wished for once that he could be useful, be strong for both of them. He is too young to know the extent of the pain Emperor has gone through, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t try. 

Yet when the music stops and the only thing that can be heard is the sound of soft sobs, Prince wipes his eyes hastily and pads back to his own room before his brother can catch him.

***

When they’re defeated by Team Blue, Prince expects the same music to echo throughout the house again.

Emperor seemed slightly chattier on their way back home, though. Prince doesn’t think he’s heard his brother talk so much in one moment than he had today. He’s quick to drop off his gear and head into their father’s study, but Prince swears he sees a ghost of a smile on his face. Prince doesn’t even bother dropping off his own gear in his room, just puts it by the doorway; he’d hear it from Emperor later, but this was much more important.

Emperor is already sat at the piano when Prince peers his head into the room. He’s cracking his knuckles and humming softly to himself when he starts to play. The music is lively-Prince recognizes it as an old song Eging Jr.’s father had taught them-and he feels warmth spread across his chest.

He stands and listens to fingers clacking against keys, happy music filling the house. For the first time in ages, Emperor seems genuinely happy and the thought makes Prince want to cry. The music gets louder and louder the harder Emperor hits the keys, but it isn’t angry. It’s raw, emotional, and  _ happy. _

The music stops abruptly and Prince’s body stiffens when Emperor’s voice replaces the noise. “I know you’re there. You’ve always been bad at hiding.” Even though the tone of his voice doesn’t change, Prince knows his brother is teasing.

“Sorry,” Prince says softly. “I didn’t wanna interrupt you or anything.”

Emperor smiles, and it’s so genuine it makes Prince want to cry. He doesn’t think he has seen his brother smile since they were children. “It’s fine, you know,” he says. “I think your violin is still in its case. How about you grab it and we can play together?”

Prince smiles, bouncing up and down. “Ok! Give me a second then!”

***

“I’m kind of worried, honestly,” Eging Jr. mumbles quietly. “Haven’t heard from either of them since they left.”

“They’re probably just busy,” N-Pacer reasons. “Emperor did say he was going to pack to leave.”

“Yeah, but he could have at least called!” Eging Jr. rattles the spare key to the Hozuki into the keyhole, frustrating growing before N-Pacer sighs and deals with it herself. 

They push the door open and Eging Jr. raises an eyebrow at the sight of Prince’s gear by the door. “Surprised Emp didn’t kill him for this,” they laugh. N-Pacer raises an eyebrow at them and shrugs, untying her boots and setting them carefully on the carpet before walking in, Junior following her lead.

They’re about halfway to Prince’s room when N-Pacer pauses, tossing an arm out to stop Junior’s pace. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“Music. They’re playing music.”

Junior glances at her quickly before rushing to the study, N-Pacer on his tail. They pause at the sight in front of them, mouth slightly agape.

Emperor is smiling down at the piano, fingers hitting the keys with certainty as Prince’s bow glides across his violin. Music fills the whole room and Prince smiles at his brother who hums softly, barely audible among the crescendo he’s playing.

“They’re fine, Junior,” N-Pacer says softly. She laughs as they tug her close to hug. “They’re going to be just fine.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading ! my twitter is @tomurajoyfriend if u ever wanna swing by and say hi !


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